ACT government scraps urinals in favour of female-friendly change rooms

That's why walking into newly refurbished Canberra Stadium facilities must have felt like something she could have only dreamed of as a rugby-playing teenage girl.

The injured ACT Brumbies captain hopes the $500,000 revamp is another step towards equality after an ACT government directive to build more female-friendly facilities.

The retrofit work involved removing urinals from the Canberra Stadium change rooms, adding modesty screens in the showers and having more power outlets.

All new facilities being built in Canberra, including the ones at the Raiders new headquarters in Braddon, are required to follow the same directives.

"There have been times when I've got changed in car parks or even for training we have to get changed in the hallway," Milward said.

"Now we have our own space at Brumbies HQ, which is really nice. This year we've had some nice touches for women's sport and it's much more inclusive for everyone.

"I played my first game 13 years ago and the gap from then to today has decreased massively. It's the little things that are massive for us."

ACT Sport Minister Yvette Berry opened the new facility on Wednesday and said the government would continue investing in female athletes.

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"These upgrades are part of the commitment of $500,000 to make sure our change room facilities are as inclusive as possible," Berry said.

"The government has developed guidelines to ensure women and girls can play sport, but also do it in change rooms that are female friendly.

"One of the main barriers for [women] to continue playing sport is that the change rooms aren't inclusive.

"[So improvements for] things like removing urinals, better lighting and more cubicles. All of those small things make a big difference.

"Part of the $500,000 upgrade is for community facilities as well. Upgrading older facilities is a challenge for the government ... but we want to remove barriers."

Capital Football announced on Wednesday female participation numbers have jumped by 13 per cent in Canberra, while women's soccer jumped nine per cent across the rest of the country.

The government is working with the FFA to secure a Matildas fixture this year as part of a $24.5 million deal to build a "home of football" at Throsby, but Berry said a date is yet to be finalised.